Ask HN: How to best teach a group of children how to code?
115 comments
I've done this for several years. Here's what I've learned.
TLDR: Focus on getting them to have fun & enjoy learning about 'code'. Don't care so much on how well they learn it.
Every kid is unique & will respond to different things.
Social & mentors are awesome. It's usually more fun to build with others if possible. Also they will want to easily share & show off their creations with others.
Show them how to "hack" Google with the browser's dev inspector tools. Wins them over every time.
Give them simple partially completed programs that they can modify. I've had a lot of success with a simple trivia game that lets them start by modifying the questions/answers & the replies it gives. A great first lesson in how to use strings & gets them looking at the code. They can then share what they created with others (social aspect) & have them play their game.
Do NOT lecture to them or try to do long demos. They often listen to teachers lecture all day long. They want to have fun & explore. They also don't care about types or any other computer science terms until they've created a lot of things & are trying to figure out why they don't work.
I've had decent results with Scratch. For pure beginners though, still start them off with a semi-completed program.
TLDR: Focus on getting them to have fun & enjoy learning about 'code'. Don't care so much on how well they learn it.
Every kid is unique & will respond to different things.
Social & mentors are awesome. It's usually more fun to build with others if possible. Also they will want to easily share & show off their creations with others.
Show them how to "hack" Google with the browser's dev inspector tools. Wins them over every time.
Give them simple partially completed programs that they can modify. I've had a lot of success with a simple trivia game that lets them start by modifying the questions/answers & the replies it gives. A great first lesson in how to use strings & gets them looking at the code. They can then share what they created with others (social aspect) & have them play their game.
Do NOT lecture to them or try to do long demos. They often listen to teachers lecture all day long. They want to have fun & explore. They also don't care about types or any other computer science terms until they've created a lot of things & are trying to figure out why they don't work.
I've had decent results with Scratch. For pure beginners though, still start them off with a semi-completed program.
+1 for the DOM Inspector. I have found that kids LOVE pulling back the curtain on a website to see the wizard and play with the code. A fun activity is to have them go to a news site and have them edit the headlines and replace the images to silly things and take screenshots to share with their parents. What really impresses me with this exercise is how quickly some kids will figure out some intermediate hacks when they learn how easy it is to google the things they want to do.
Another suggestion that works for the same reason is to give kids code to play with. I've wasted 20 minutes of class time having kids write a three line "Hello World!" javascript program from scratch. All this did was irritate and bore the kids out of their minds as they struggled with syntax and hunt-and-peck typing.
Instead, when I give kids a great big block of javascript code that does something fun and animated, those kids will go wild with it. This is because changes to different variables can have big effects. They quickly learn to read the code and identify what different parts do. They break the code, and you show them how that's a good thing and how easy it is to revert it back so that it's working again. Code should be a playground. Give the kids a rich playground to run around in.
Another suggestion that works for the same reason is to give kids code to play with. I've wasted 20 minutes of class time having kids write a three line "Hello World!" javascript program from scratch. All this did was irritate and bore the kids out of their minds as they struggled with syntax and hunt-and-peck typing.
Instead, when I give kids a great big block of javascript code that does something fun and animated, those kids will go wild with it. This is because changes to different variables can have big effects. They quickly learn to read the code and identify what different parts do. They break the code, and you show them how that's a good thing and how easy it is to revert it back so that it's working again. Code should be a playground. Give the kids a rich playground to run around in.
I think you said that better than me. I'm stealing this line as it's to good not to - "Code should be a playground. Give the kids a rich playground to run around in." Let me know if you want me to credit it to you ever.
Well there's a reason we refer to virtual environments as sandboxes!
Just something that came to mind reading this great comment, have you considered using webcam + canvas manipulation for that great block of fun Javascript? I've been doing Javascript30 (https://javascript30.com/), and day 19 (unreal webcam fun) he showed doing live image filters with simple pixel manipulation on a canvas populated by the user's webcam - it was awesome, I think kids would love it, and it lends itself really nicely to your model of a pile of variables to play with and break. That course is free (no affiliation but it's awesome!) and all the code is on Github, the webcam one is here: https://github.com/wesbos/JavaScript30/tree/master/19%20-%20...
> Instead, when I give kids a great big block of javascript code that does something fun and animated, those kids will go wild with it. This is because changes to different variables can have big effects.
I remember being a kid and typing in Mandelbrot code from a BASIC computer magazine. Even though I didn't understand the code, I had endless amounts of fun with stuff like that for exactly this reason.
It's what sparked my imagination and interest in programming.
I remember being a kid and typing in Mandelbrot code from a BASIC computer magazine. Even though I didn't understand the code, I had endless amounts of fun with stuff like that for exactly this reason.
It's what sparked my imagination and interest in programming.
If you think about it, it's imitating how a lot of us auto-didacts learnt to code, especially in the 2000s.
Got some script for modifying a game or an excel function or some code that doesn't quite do what we want it to. Bash it with random changes until you suddenly fix/change/etc. it.
Get a bit addicted, rinse, repeat, suddenly a month later you can understand most of the code.
Got some script for modifying a game or an excel function or some code that doesn't quite do what we want it to. Bash it with random changes until you suddenly fix/change/etc. it.
Get a bit addicted, rinse, repeat, suddenly a month later you can understand most of the code.
Can verify pulling apart the Southwest Airlines website back in the day with my HTML book on my lap was quite edifying.
New Weekend Project - A website that teaches the console by leading you to modify the website via the console.
>Instead, when I give kids a great big block of javascript code that does something fun and animated, those kids will go wild with it.
It's too bad elementary and secondary education in general aren't more like this.
It's too bad elementary and secondary education in general aren't more like this.
The "hack Google" through web inspector reminds me of an experience I had a while back.
The plan was to teach kids about how websites works/HTTP basics, basic HTML/JS etc. I had all the material and code ready. When I reached the school I found out their internet had been disconnected!
Google's "browser is offline" T-Rex game popped up and I ended up spending the entire week with them teaching them how that game worked. It was a big hit! By the end of the week they were busy modifying the t-rex sprites with each others faces and stuff :)
Basically have a back up plan for no/limited internet!
The plan was to teach kids about how websites works/HTTP basics, basic HTML/JS etc. I had all the material and code ready. When I reached the school I found out their internet had been disconnected!
Google's "browser is offline" T-Rex game popped up and I ended up spending the entire week with them teaching them how that game worked. It was a big hit! By the end of the week they were busy modifying the t-rex sprites with each others faces and stuff :)
Basically have a back up plan for no/limited internet!
"Give them simple partially completed programs that they can modify. ... Do NOT lecture to them or try to do long demos."
YES. I wish I could upvote this more. Curiosity is a powerful drive for learning, and when kids are allowed to pursue their own line of questioning and tinkering, the questions asked are more "personal" and the information learned IMO is more likely to be retained.
The "zero-entry pool" that Scratch provides is also important (how many kids want to spend a lot of time setting up their development environment?), but I think the tinkering is key. Kids who are simply content to tinker with what is provided will stay at that level; the ones who are truly interested in going beyond that stage will begin asking questions and driving beyond what has been provided.
YES. I wish I could upvote this more. Curiosity is a powerful drive for learning, and when kids are allowed to pursue their own line of questioning and tinkering, the questions asked are more "personal" and the information learned IMO is more likely to be retained.
The "zero-entry pool" that Scratch provides is also important (how many kids want to spend a lot of time setting up their development environment?), but I think the tinkering is key. Kids who are simply content to tinker with what is provided will stay at that level; the ones who are truly interested in going beyond that stage will begin asking questions and driving beyond what has been provided.
I spent some time volunteering at an event where we were paired up with a ~5-6 year old, working with Scratch.
We had a lesson plan booklet to work from, but I found it far more effective to completely ignore it and let the child explore, and then guide the result of that exploration into a result. Seeing the sheer delight on a kid's face when you point out that with a few minor modifications, what he or she has made is in fact a playable computer game is spectacular. (and then beatboxing with them to record "background music" and sound effects is also fun ;) )
We had a lesson plan booklet to work from, but I found it far more effective to completely ignore it and let the child explore, and then guide the result of that exploration into a result. Seeing the sheer delight on a kid's face when you point out that with a few minor modifications, what he or she has made is in fact a playable computer game is spectacular. (and then beatboxing with them to record "background music" and sound effects is also fun ;) )
This mimics my experience. I have ran summer coding workshops for 8 to 14 year olds and am currently teaching a coding elective to 11 to 14 year old kids at a local charter school. Each lessons starts off with a semi-completed program and guides them into how to change & modify that.
I have learned not to bore them with business apps or too much of the logistics to start. I start by getting them to code basic HTML/CSS. They get super excited by learning how to change colors and font sizes. Then we go into programming some simple JavaScript games. Later in the course, I bring in a Raspberry Pi and introduce them to that and a little Python.
You don't want to scare them away or overwhelm them at first. Keep it exciting and fun. At this age, let them hack.
I have learned not to bore them with business apps or too much of the logistics to start. I start by getting them to code basic HTML/CSS. They get super excited by learning how to change colors and font sizes. Then we go into programming some simple JavaScript games. Later in the course, I bring in a Raspberry Pi and introduce them to that and a little Python.
You don't want to scare them away or overwhelm them at first. Keep it exciting and fun. At this age, let them hack.
Glad someone beat me to it.
Teaching kids to code is similar to teaching just about anything else: get them to have fun and find how it applies to them, followed by how to figure out what they don't know, then how to keep going when things are frustrating and they want to give up.
More practically, the kids who are into games have probably already figured out how to write Minecraft mods or something, so introing them to something like Code Combat is a fairly natural next step. For kids into music, try http://sonic-pi.net. Sports? Maybe wade into statistics/data analysis and show em some moneyball or fantasy football. Lego Mindstorms-style stuff is awesome for just about everyone because of the tactile aspect, and moving from that to playing with simple electronics can be done with gentle happy path introductions.
Also be aware of where the falloffs will be. Lots of kids can change the color on a prebuilt object on Khan Academy, but going from changing a field to starting from scratch on a new idea is an incredible. Teaching debugging and figuring out how to solve something you haven't seen before is more important than anything else.
Teaching kids to code is similar to teaching just about anything else: get them to have fun and find how it applies to them, followed by how to figure out what they don't know, then how to keep going when things are frustrating and they want to give up.
More practically, the kids who are into games have probably already figured out how to write Minecraft mods or something, so introing them to something like Code Combat is a fairly natural next step. For kids into music, try http://sonic-pi.net. Sports? Maybe wade into statistics/data analysis and show em some moneyball or fantasy football. Lego Mindstorms-style stuff is awesome for just about everyone because of the tactile aspect, and moving from that to playing with simple electronics can be done with gentle happy path introductions.
Also be aware of where the falloffs will be. Lots of kids can change the color on a prebuilt object on Khan Academy, but going from changing a field to starting from scratch on a new idea is an incredible. Teaching debugging and figuring out how to solve something you haven't seen before is more important than anything else.
Hack Google works for all my peers in high school. Or with the gradebook. Then I hit f5 and watch their smile fade away when they realize the 178%they just gave themselves in math won't stay
> I've had a lot of success with a simple trivia game that lets them start by modifying the questions/answers & the replies it gives.
The beginning of my own path to being a programmer, long ago, was playing with games made in RPG Maker 95. If I didn't understand how to pass an obstacle, I would "cheat" by opening the game's world-database file up in the game editor, finding the "object" with the logic that was inhibiting my progress, and then modifying it to allow me to bypass it.
After that, I progressed to just opening games in the editor to "figure out what the author actually wanted me to do here" so I could go back to the game and do it; and then, finally, just observing how people had constructed their games.
All in all, it felt very natural to transition from there, to making my own games in the editor.
I think it was a (probably unintentional) brilliance on the part of the company who produced the software, that the games produced only by using the "hardcoded" features of the game-editor were so simplistic and limited--while also allowing a complete, Turing-complete scripting capability. It meant that, very quickly after starting down a path saying "I want to make a game", I was forcing myself to learn programming concepts in order to extend the engine with the features I wanted in a game.
After a while of doing that, I had absorbed enough about programming to understand that the game-editor tool itself wasn't "magical", and that the whole of its hardcoded game engine could be represented with a not-overwhelmingly-large piece of the same scripting-language logic I had already been writing.
After that moment, it just felt "natural" to move on to reading some Javascript tutorials online, and to pick up a book on C.
The realization that there was no magic in the software I interacted with, but instead merely sequences of small, logical steps I could identify and replicate myself, using a library of atomic mechanisms (branches, loops, etc.) specified to a computer in a formal language: I think that is the one thing that needs to be captured by anything that claims to "teach programming."
And, personally, if I were going to teach programming, I'd try to do it just as I did above: give them completed game, but an overly-difficult one, one which they aren't just modifying for the sake of modifying, but modifying because that's what will let them win.
And, at first, I don't think "programming" even needs to be introduced. Just introduce the framework, the idea of modifying an existing interactive thing (don't call it a program), even if it's just by opening a visual editor and erasing a rock that's in your way.
Then, in later exercises, you can make the "thing that's in your way" much less simple--a sprite whose state is wrong, an event that won't trigger until a flag is set from somewhere else, a person who expects some variable to hold an impossible value where you have to construct the trigger to set that variable yourself; etc.
Eventually (but probably within one semester of an after-school-club setup!), this "adversarial modification framework" could work up to the point of something like Core Wars, where the student is writing writing complex agentive processes controlling shield drones to protect the player-character from enemy fire as they move toward a goal.
From there, you've got a decent jumping-off-point to the "wanting to mod the engine to get it to do the cool things other people have made it do" phase, and from there to the "why not just write it all myself?" phase.
The beginning of my own path to being a programmer, long ago, was playing with games made in RPG Maker 95. If I didn't understand how to pass an obstacle, I would "cheat" by opening the game's world-database file up in the game editor, finding the "object" with the logic that was inhibiting my progress, and then modifying it to allow me to bypass it.
After that, I progressed to just opening games in the editor to "figure out what the author actually wanted me to do here" so I could go back to the game and do it; and then, finally, just observing how people had constructed their games.
All in all, it felt very natural to transition from there, to making my own games in the editor.
I think it was a (probably unintentional) brilliance on the part of the company who produced the software, that the games produced only by using the "hardcoded" features of the game-editor were so simplistic and limited--while also allowing a complete, Turing-complete scripting capability. It meant that, very quickly after starting down a path saying "I want to make a game", I was forcing myself to learn programming concepts in order to extend the engine with the features I wanted in a game.
After a while of doing that, I had absorbed enough about programming to understand that the game-editor tool itself wasn't "magical", and that the whole of its hardcoded game engine could be represented with a not-overwhelmingly-large piece of the same scripting-language logic I had already been writing.
After that moment, it just felt "natural" to move on to reading some Javascript tutorials online, and to pick up a book on C.
The realization that there was no magic in the software I interacted with, but instead merely sequences of small, logical steps I could identify and replicate myself, using a library of atomic mechanisms (branches, loops, etc.) specified to a computer in a formal language: I think that is the one thing that needs to be captured by anything that claims to "teach programming."
And, personally, if I were going to teach programming, I'd try to do it just as I did above: give them completed game, but an overly-difficult one, one which they aren't just modifying for the sake of modifying, but modifying because that's what will let them win.
And, at first, I don't think "programming" even needs to be introduced. Just introduce the framework, the idea of modifying an existing interactive thing (don't call it a program), even if it's just by opening a visual editor and erasing a rock that's in your way.
Then, in later exercises, you can make the "thing that's in your way" much less simple--a sprite whose state is wrong, an event that won't trigger until a flag is set from somewhere else, a person who expects some variable to hold an impossible value where you have to construct the trigger to set that variable yourself; etc.
Eventually (but probably within one semester of an after-school-club setup!), this "adversarial modification framework" could work up to the point of something like Core Wars, where the student is writing writing complex agentive processes controlling shield drones to protect the player-character from enemy fire as they move toward a goal.
From there, you've got a decent jumping-off-point to the "wanting to mod the engine to get it to do the cool things other people have made it do" phase, and from there to the "why not just write it all myself?" phase.
I used to help teach kids (12-16ish) how to code.
One thing that we always did towards the beginning of a class was an exercise where we tell them to write down the steps to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then we'd literally get bread, peanut butter, and jelly, and follow their instructions to the letter. No one ever adequately describes the process: "put peanut butter on bread" - With what? the jar is closed, I can't! etc.
You might argue this introduces too imperative a thought process - but it gets the "computers do exactly what you tell them to" idea across very well.
One thing that we always did towards the beginning of a class was an exercise where we tell them to write down the steps to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then we'd literally get bread, peanut butter, and jelly, and follow their instructions to the letter. No one ever adequately describes the process: "put peanut butter on bread" - With what? the jar is closed, I can't! etc.
You might argue this introduces too imperative a thought process - but it gets the "computers do exactly what you tell them to" idea across very well.
I had a music teacher do exactly this to a class when I was 10 or so, and it's one of the most memorable school experiences for me as a child. The purpose was something like explaining yourself well, rather than programming, but the idea is the same.
We needed to describe how to draw some sheet music on the chalkboard, but you couldn't gesture (we could only communicate through an imaginary phone line), and he would take whatever you said as literally as possible and opposite of your original intention as he could.
"Ok, draw 5 lines" (Draws 5 squiggles) "No! 5 straight lines" (draws 5 lines in various locations and directions) "Nooo! 5 straight lines, above each other, horizontal!" (Draws the 5 lines of a musical staff, but 2 inches long and 3 feet vertical spacing between each line). "Nooooo! 5 straight lines, above each other, horizontal, they should be very long and close together" (Takes out a piece of paper from his desk, draws the staff on it) "NOOOO! On the chalkboard!" etc
We needed to describe how to draw some sheet music on the chalkboard, but you couldn't gesture (we could only communicate through an imaginary phone line), and he would take whatever you said as literally as possible and opposite of your original intention as he could.
"Ok, draw 5 lines" (Draws 5 squiggles) "No! 5 straight lines" (draws 5 lines in various locations and directions) "Nooo! 5 straight lines, above each other, horizontal!" (Draws the 5 lines of a musical staff, but 2 inches long and 3 feet vertical spacing between each line). "Nooooo! 5 straight lines, above each other, horizontal, they should be very long and close together" (Takes out a piece of paper from his desk, draws the staff on it) "NOOOO! On the chalkboard!" etc
I think this is much more relevant to both coding, and applicable to other disciplines as well. I do very little coding, I don't find it interesting, it's not at all the same basic knowledge base as history, civics, math, science. Coding is a higher level that requires a base first. I'm not skeptical of introducing code at such a young age, but I'm skeptical of treating it as if it's a basic thing many/most/all kids should understand.
>No one ever adequately describes the process: "put peanut butter on bread"
Sounds like the perfect introduction to abstraction and wishful-thinking guided programming! (Maybe not using big words like abstraction for kids)
Sounds like the perfect introduction to abstraction and wishful-thinking guided programming! (Maybe not using big words like abstraction for kids)
There was a video of a teacher doing exactly that, made me rethink some approaches I use when teaching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leBEFaVHllE
I've been volunteering for three years in the classroom on behalf of a non-profit [0]. We teach HTML, CSS, and jQuery. Here are some high level lessons I've learned:
* Don't teach unnecessary details. For example, students get hung up on the <title> tag because titles are usually at the top of the page. Just skip or defer teaching it - it's not important to their end goal of understanding code.
* Reinforce that the computer is dumb. I tell my kids outright that the computer is stupid. What this gets across to kids is that when they talk to this box, they need to be very precise with their language. Syntax errors---a constant demoralizer---then become not a shortcoming of the student but of the machine.
* When you craft / select exercises for practice, make sure they always fit two criteria: instant gratification and fun. By the former, I mean the students are producing code and instantly seeing a visual reward for it. With the latter---adults always forget that kids are kids. They couldn't care less about "Hello world". But an "About me" page is fun because they get to express themselves. When you talk arrays, don't push and pop fruits. Push and pop Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande.
I might expand on this in a blog post. Happy to talk more offline.
[0] - https://scripted.org/
PS - if you're in the bay area OR NYC and want to teach underserved high schoolers how to code, reach out!
* Don't teach unnecessary details. For example, students get hung up on the <title> tag because titles are usually at the top of the page. Just skip or defer teaching it - it's not important to their end goal of understanding code.
* Reinforce that the computer is dumb. I tell my kids outright that the computer is stupid. What this gets across to kids is that when they talk to this box, they need to be very precise with their language. Syntax errors---a constant demoralizer---then become not a shortcoming of the student but of the machine.
* When you craft / select exercises for practice, make sure they always fit two criteria: instant gratification and fun. By the former, I mean the students are producing code and instantly seeing a visual reward for it. With the latter---adults always forget that kids are kids. They couldn't care less about "Hello world". But an "About me" page is fun because they get to express themselves. When you talk arrays, don't push and pop fruits. Push and pop Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande.
I might expand on this in a blog post. Happy to talk more offline.
[0] - https://scripted.org/
PS - if you're in the bay area OR NYC and want to teach underserved high schoolers how to code, reach out!
Consider Bootstrap:
http://www.bootstrapworld.org/
Bootstrap 1 is computing tied to algebra concepts, targeted at the middle school age group (US grade 6-8). Students learn things like order of operations and what a function is while building up their own game. The curriculum has lots of activities that show students how to use code to generate images early on, which gives something immediately interesting and tangible to work with.
It runs in a stock browser (lots of students do Bootstrap on inexpensive Chromebook models), has a great support mailing list, and is used in schools across the US already. It also explicitly helps with math skills, which can be doubly useful in preparing for other STEM topics in the future.
http://www.bootstrapworld.org/
Bootstrap 1 is computing tied to algebra concepts, targeted at the middle school age group (US grade 6-8). Students learn things like order of operations and what a function is while building up their own game. The curriculum has lots of activities that show students how to use code to generate images early on, which gives something immediately interesting and tangible to work with.
It runs in a stock browser (lots of students do Bootstrap on inexpensive Chromebook models), has a great support mailing list, and is used in schools across the US already. It also explicitly helps with math skills, which can be doubly useful in preparing for other STEM topics in the future.
It depends on the kids' age. Older kids could probably handle Python though setting up + computer availability might an obstacle. If they have access to shared computers maybe javascript could be good since they can test things out in the browser.
For younger kids maybe a block-programming interface would be good: https://developers.google.com/blockly/ || https://snap.berkeley.edu/ || https://scratch.mit.edu/
For a less high-tech approach, you should look at http://csunplugged.org/ , e.g., http://csunplugged.org/binary-numbers/
In all cases I think the instruction/teaching is going to be key—through the physical presence and support. It will be comparatively more difficult to bootstrap and get them to learn by themselves. Peer tutoring is very promising though: See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk60sYrU2RU and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3jYVe1RGaU
It would be great if you write a blog post about this and what worked so people can follow in your footsteps. Good luck!
For younger kids maybe a block-programming interface would be good: https://developers.google.com/blockly/ || https://snap.berkeley.edu/ || https://scratch.mit.edu/
For a less high-tech approach, you should look at http://csunplugged.org/ , e.g., http://csunplugged.org/binary-numbers/
In all cases I think the instruction/teaching is going to be key—through the physical presence and support. It will be comparatively more difficult to bootstrap and get them to learn by themselves. Peer tutoring is very promising though: See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk60sYrU2RU and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3jYVe1RGaU
It would be great if you write a blog post about this and what worked so people can follow in your footsteps. Good luck!
+1 for block-programming, even for older kids/teenagers. I taught a high school CS class using Snap.
At first, I thought it was silly to teach "drag & drop" programming and would have preferred a high-level scripting language. But, after teaching 2 semesters of Snap and observing classes in Java, I'm a huge fan.
2 main reasons:
1. Time-to-cool-result is really low. The first project was a Mario-like game. Less than 10 hours from "never programmed" to "built Mario game" is a really powerful first experience. (Demo: http://snap.berkeley.edu/snapsource/snap.html#present:Userna...)
2. Syntax and compiler errors are really confusing. When I walked around the Java class, most kids were asking questions about how to fix their syntax errors. In my class, most of the questions were conceptual.
It's easier to go back and learn a "real" language after you understand the high-level concepts and have seen how cool programming is.
If you want the resources I used, feel free to ping me ([email protected]).
At first, I thought it was silly to teach "drag & drop" programming and would have preferred a high-level scripting language. But, after teaching 2 semesters of Snap and observing classes in Java, I'm a huge fan.
2 main reasons:
1. Time-to-cool-result is really low. The first project was a Mario-like game. Less than 10 hours from "never programmed" to "built Mario game" is a really powerful first experience. (Demo: http://snap.berkeley.edu/snapsource/snap.html#present:Userna...)
2. Syntax and compiler errors are really confusing. When I walked around the Java class, most kids were asking questions about how to fix their syntax errors. In my class, most of the questions were conceptual.
It's easier to go back and learn a "real" language after you understand the high-level concepts and have seen how cool programming is.
If you want the resources I used, feel free to ping me ([email protected]).
This curriculum is over 10 years old and I think doesn't go beyond HTML/CSS (I.e. stopped short of JavaScript), but I found at least a couple perennial helpful concepts for teaching young kids (the original developers of the curriculum were really smart and dedicated): https://www.scribd.com/mobile/document/58467154/Wired-Woods
I taught this curriculum to 120 or so kids aged 6-13 from underprivileged backgrounds in the Boston area. The experience changed my life - kids are so amazingly smart and learn so fast - and they ALL got really into making websites! I have no doubt that for at least a couple of my pupils the early exposure led to success in tech careers, helping to break them out of generational poverty.
The Web is an incredible platform for learning, self-expression, creativity, and empowerment. Unfortunately in the age of iPads etc. I think it's more difficult now to get kids into web development than it was 10 years ago.
My contact info is in my profile if you read the curriculum and want to ask any questions.
I taught this curriculum to 120 or so kids aged 6-13 from underprivileged backgrounds in the Boston area. The experience changed my life - kids are so amazingly smart and learn so fast - and they ALL got really into making websites! I have no doubt that for at least a couple of my pupils the early exposure led to success in tech careers, helping to break them out of generational poverty.
The Web is an incredible platform for learning, self-expression, creativity, and empowerment. Unfortunately in the age of iPads etc. I think it's more difficult now to get kids into web development than it was 10 years ago.
My contact info is in my profile if you read the curriculum and want to ask any questions.
Logo -- it helped me learn when I was younger. The best part is as it is visual, kids can see how what they type changes what happens on the screen. It gives them instant feedback in to learning how to give machines instructions. This software can be loaded on any laptop or other computer. It doesn't require any crazy hardware either. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo_(programming_language)
+1. Recommended Logo myself in this thread. And since it supports recursion, you can even draw Sierpinski triangles and such-like curves easily, and so introduce them to recursion.
I taught a group of 9-12 year old basic logic and algorithms using Scratch to animate a scene.
One kid wrote a basic brick breaker and another pong. They all seemed to enjoy the process since it's pretty straight forward drag/drop logic.
https://scratch.mit.edu/
One kid wrote a basic brick breaker and another pong. They all seemed to enjoy the process since it's pretty straight forward drag/drop logic.
https://scratch.mit.edu/
Agreed. I taught a CS club to 4th and 5th graders during college and they all loved Scratch. It's very easy to get going with audio, images, animation, etc., which got them really interested quickly. Even for older (middle school aged) kids I'd probably start with Scratch because it teaches most of the CS concepts you'd use in any other language, but doesn't require the tedious environment setup (editor, compiler/interpreter, etc.) that "real" languages need. Spark their interest using the concepts, then sprinkle in the boring parts.
I taught a class of 10-year-olds an hour a day for two weeks a while back. We used scratch for programming, but the first day, we made paper airplanes. First, two kids sat together while one made a paper airplane and the other wrote down the steps that the first one took to make the plane. Then they traded instructions and tried to follow someone else's steps. This got them thinking literally, and they had very little trouble with missing details after that.
After getting a jumpstart, they started building games using Scratch and sending them to each other to play (test). That's the hands-off part. The prep was simple instruction in reaching a goal with code, including the importance of accepting feedback from others. The school had already taught them to be respectful, so I didn't have to deal with a lot of egos. The boys all knew that some of the girls would be better programmers, and didn't fight it.
After getting a jumpstart, they started building games using Scratch and sending them to each other to play (test). That's the hands-off part. The prep was simple instruction in reaching a goal with code, including the importance of accepting feedback from others. The school had already taught them to be respectful, so I didn't have to deal with a lot of egos. The boys all knew that some of the girls would be better programmers, and didn't fight it.
I've been teaching after school programs and community classes through our university for a couple years on and off.
I've been using the CS-First curriculum from Google. It uses Scratch as the programming environment (a visual environment from MIT).
Overall, I like the CS-First curriculum a lot–though some of the themes are better than others (some lean towards animation/storytelling and are light on actual programming topics). In my workshops I almost always inject some of my own lectures and exercises with the kids.
Biggest issue I've run into is with Scratch being Flash-based. I'm starting to see browser issues more often (especially in a tightly controlled university lab). This could be a big issue for you if you're teaching kids remotely.
One new thing I'm looking forward to trying with a class soon is Hopscotch. It's a scratch-like visual programming environment for iOS. I've tested it on my own kids and they love it. Plus they put out a ton of useful videos and tutorials.
Good luck
https://www.cs-first.com/en/home
https://scratch.mit.edu/
https://www.gethopscotch.com/
I've been using the CS-First curriculum from Google. It uses Scratch as the programming environment (a visual environment from MIT).
Overall, I like the CS-First curriculum a lot–though some of the themes are better than others (some lean towards animation/storytelling and are light on actual programming topics). In my workshops I almost always inject some of my own lectures and exercises with the kids.
Biggest issue I've run into is with Scratch being Flash-based. I'm starting to see browser issues more often (especially in a tightly controlled university lab). This could be a big issue for you if you're teaching kids remotely.
One new thing I'm looking forward to trying with a class soon is Hopscotch. It's a scratch-like visual programming environment for iOS. I've tested it on my own kids and they love it. Plus they put out a ton of useful videos and tutorials.
Good luck
https://www.cs-first.com/en/home
https://scratch.mit.edu/
https://www.gethopscotch.com/
CS Unplugged (http://csunplugged.org/) has some good resources for teaching CS concepts without needing a computer. I'm not sure how easy they would be to do at a distance, but you might find some aspects that would work well.
Bootstrap World (http://www.bootstrapworld.org/) is a curriculum for teaching CS and Algebra while making a simple graphical video game using Racket (similar to Scheme). You can do the exercises using Dr. Racket IDE or by using a web-based IDE (http://www.wescheme.org/).
You also might take a look at Picturing Programs (http://picturingprograms.com/) and How to Design Programs (http://www.htdp.org/). Both of those may be more advanced than what you would want to start with, but they are both focused on teaching computer science concepts more than the particular language and both are aimed at beginners without any background with code.
Bootstrap World (http://www.bootstrapworld.org/) is a curriculum for teaching CS and Algebra while making a simple graphical video game using Racket (similar to Scheme). You can do the exercises using Dr. Racket IDE or by using a web-based IDE (http://www.wescheme.org/).
You also might take a look at Picturing Programs (http://picturingprograms.com/) and How to Design Programs (http://www.htdp.org/). Both of those may be more advanced than what you would want to start with, but they are both focused on teaching computer science concepts more than the particular language and both are aimed at beginners without any background with code.
I'm teaching three of my younger siblings to code.
It was one of the more meaningful things that I've ever done and was nothing short of hard.
Here are the things I've learned teaching my siblings full stack development in a few months.
You have to be patient, programming is complex and takes time. Sometimes you have to re-introduce the basics multiple times and hold their hand along the way as they try to connect the dots.
Offer them free food, support their interest, help them with their school work, reduce their stress levels, and take a keen interest in their hobbies
Build something right away, and introduce theory immediately after the project is finished. When introducing new concept explain it in an ELI5 fashion.
Give them multiple resources. Sometimes one source of knowledge is not good enough and giving them other resources not only helps with repetition, but it gives them other places that will explain the same topic in a different manner.
It was one of the more meaningful things that I've ever done and was nothing short of hard.
Here are the things I've learned teaching my siblings full stack development in a few months.
You have to be patient, programming is complex and takes time. Sometimes you have to re-introduce the basics multiple times and hold their hand along the way as they try to connect the dots.
Offer them free food, support their interest, help them with their school work, reduce their stress levels, and take a keen interest in their hobbies
Build something right away, and introduce theory immediately after the project is finished. When introducing new concept explain it in an ELI5 fashion.
Give them multiple resources. Sometimes one source of knowledge is not good enough and giving them other resources not only helps with repetition, but it gives them other places that will explain the same topic in a different manner.
At the UC Irvine Math Circle, we teach students aged 11-16 functional programming with Haskell by having them make 2D images with functions.
It was easy for the students to get started because it was connected to math that they already knew. Just different notation.
We use a web-based interface based on glot.io that was popular on HN a while back. The code is run server-side in docker containers.
Source code and screenshots: https://github.com/umutisik/mathvas
Web site: https://www.mathvas.com login details if you don't want to sign up: email: [email protected] password: guestguest
It was easy for the students to get started because it was connected to math that they already knew. Just different notation.
We use a web-based interface based on glot.io that was popular on HN a while back. The code is run server-side in docker containers.
Source code and screenshots: https://github.com/umutisik/mathvas
Web site: https://www.mathvas.com login details if you don't want to sign up: email: [email protected] password: guestguest
Fool-proof steps to produce a software developer:
1) Force them to learn how to navigate filesystems, the basics of file-based config, how to find and download files, and basic networking to make their video games work.
2) Give them little money, but a decent Internet connection, and make 3rd party private discussion forum solutions expensive, so they have to learn Linux and DNS and how to configure a webserver and a database and one or more scripting languages to stand up a discussion forum for their friends.
3) Make doing similar things for others pay way better than anything else they can do, even if they don't really like doing it 40 hours a week. Make this be true year after year.
I can vouch that this will work.
1) Force them to learn how to navigate filesystems, the basics of file-based config, how to find and download files, and basic networking to make their video games work.
2) Give them little money, but a decent Internet connection, and make 3rd party private discussion forum solutions expensive, so they have to learn Linux and DNS and how to configure a webserver and a database and one or more scripting languages to stand up a discussion forum for their friends.
3) Make doing similar things for others pay way better than anything else they can do, even if they don't really like doing it 40 hours a week. Make this be true year after year.
I can vouch that this will work.
Have you made one single developer with it?
Because those steps would totaly turn me off.
Because those steps would totaly turn me off.
It probably helps if you're in k-12 school at the time (loads of free time), Netflix hasn't been invented yet, it's still kind of possible to run out of crap to look at on the Web, and even though it's the mid-late nineties the only video game console in your house is an NES.
I doubt I'm even close to the only developer who ended up here because it was easy to end up in a computer-related learning loop just trying to get video games (or Encarta, or that Win98 upgrade, or your fancy new dial-up connection, or whatever) to work, there were fewer easy distractions at the time, and that skillset originally picked up while trying to play video games provided surprisingly easy entry into a career path that was both (much) easier and (way) better-paying than the things we might actually want to do with our lives. Hard to get off that track when you're in high school and already falling into (relatively, compared to your peers) high-paying jobs.
I doubt I'm even close to the only developer who ended up here because it was easy to end up in a computer-related learning loop just trying to get video games (or Encarta, or that Win98 upgrade, or your fancy new dial-up connection, or whatever) to work, there were fewer easy distractions at the time, and that skillset originally picked up while trying to play video games provided surprisingly easy entry into a career path that was both (much) easier and (way) better-paying than the things we might actually want to do with our lives. Hard to get off that track when you're in high school and already falling into (relatively, compared to your peers) high-paying jobs.
You missed the point. The question is not "How can I teach ashark to code?", but "How can I teach $average_kid to code?"
I think the broader message of the typical-90s-developer-kid journey is "make sure it's a requirement to do something they think is fun—and ideally not an artificial one". I don't know how you do that in the age of just-works iphones and free or dirt-cheap services to address practically every need—which is also why I don't have side projects.
Point is, don't make the goal (for the kid) "learn to program". Make the goal "do thing that's fun (but you'll have to learn to do computer-stuff/programming to get there)" The ones for whom "learn to program so... you can program" is an effective motivator probably don't need much help other than a finger pointing the right direction.
Point is, don't make the goal (for the kid) "learn to program". Make the goal "do thing that's fun (but you'll have to learn to do computer-stuff/programming to get there)" The ones for whom "learn to program so... you can program" is an effective motivator probably don't need much help other than a finger pointing the right direction.
Check out @ntoll work, I was on one great speech by him at pyconf about teaching kids with micro:bit and Minecraft.
I have no experience in teaching kids how to code, but I have quite big experience in working with kids in scouting, and what I can advise is to do with your students things that really work, and are not considered "boring" - like controlling LED lights, "hacking" websites with dev tools, making computers in Minecraft, etc. Your mission should be to open their minds and spark a passion to coding, then they'll learn a lot on their own and will have own ideas for projects.
I have no experience in teaching kids how to code, but I have quite big experience in working with kids in scouting, and what I can advise is to do with your students things that really work, and are not considered "boring" - like controlling LED lights, "hacking" websites with dev tools, making computers in Minecraft, etc. Your mission should be to open their minds and spark a passion to coding, then they'll learn a lot on their own and will have own ideas for projects.
+1 for @ntoll and his work. He's an approachable guy and really enthusiastic about helping kids learn tech.
This thread is amazing. I started a company with the goal of helping kids learn to code, so I peed a little when I saw that the HN crowd was giving me ideas.
Here are the main things I have figured out (3.5 years, ~6,000 kids in 8 states): - It has to be fun. Lots of people have said this already, but I have tried and failed starting with academic rigor. Hello world was a psychological payoff in the past, but for this generation it's more like a multiplayer video game (easy on scratch) or fake hacking a news website (people have said this above) - It has to be social. Anyone can get online and teach themselves, but most people won't. We hold weekly meetings at public libraries where the librarians facilitate (they don't know how to code) and the kids teach themselves. Someone mentioned Sugata Mitra +1. - It has to be inspiring. I try to help the kids feel part of a movement, like for example getting the governor to talk at a hackathon, and hand out expensive prizes. But not all kids care about that stuff, and the goal is to figure out what they care about and show them how coding can help. Art, business, sports, etc.
To the original post - I know a lot of inner city, rural and tribal libraries that would LOVE to have a shot at those donated laptops.
Here are the main things I have figured out (3.5 years, ~6,000 kids in 8 states): - It has to be fun. Lots of people have said this already, but I have tried and failed starting with academic rigor. Hello world was a psychological payoff in the past, but for this generation it's more like a multiplayer video game (easy on scratch) or fake hacking a news website (people have said this above) - It has to be social. Anyone can get online and teach themselves, but most people won't. We hold weekly meetings at public libraries where the librarians facilitate (they don't know how to code) and the kids teach themselves. Someone mentioned Sugata Mitra +1. - It has to be inspiring. I try to help the kids feel part of a movement, like for example getting the governor to talk at a hackathon, and hand out expensive prizes. But not all kids care about that stuff, and the goal is to figure out what they care about and show them how coding can help. Art, business, sports, etc.
To the original post - I know a lot of inner city, rural and tribal libraries that would LOVE to have a shot at those donated laptops.
I've done a little of this with 9-12 year olds. The most important thing is quick feedback and keeping it simple. They absolutely loved making websites. I taught them enough HTML to get started and set them up with a editor and preview window. I wrote a little web app for this, so that they were editing a "live" site they could show their parents when they went home (or keep working on it, on another computer). It was super simple and just had the functions they needed. Also, as someone else suggested, using the inspector tool to mess around with existing websites was really fun for them.
Another project was using arduinos -- and I even got them writing C, which more or less worked. You didn't need too much code to blink a light and they loved that. The mix of coding and the hands-on wiring up their breadboards kept it engaging. We did a little project where the light blinked with a frequency related to a temperature sensor, so when you put your finger on it, it would blink faster. One kid had the grand idea of having it blink faster when cooler and slower when warmer, and watching him figure out the math was great.
Another project was using arduinos -- and I even got them writing C, which more or less worked. You didn't need too much code to blink a light and they loved that. The mix of coding and the hands-on wiring up their breadboards kept it engaging. We did a little project where the light blinked with a frequency related to a temperature sensor, so when you put your finger on it, it would blink faster. One kid had the grand idea of having it blink faster when cooler and slower when warmer, and watching him figure out the math was great.
I had good results with two children using something I wrote for this purpose: http://github.com/antirez/load81. Simple instructions doing something graphical was BASIC selling point, and how many children in the 80s learned, and IMHO still works.
A nephew of mine (~9) got a Kano for Christmas and the setup and all the gamified coding exercises were really fun. He really enjoyed them.
Perhaps something to explore as a platform as well as it's not too expensive and comes with what you need to hack around.
It comes with Minecraft Py installed and has a few tasks to customize a level, character, etc. Python dev tools comes installed as well as Scratch and other exercises.
The idea of gamifying tasks across the platform is interesting especially if you think of a class of folks and a leaderboard or something - maybe not something to stress but some folks like competition more than others to drive them to learn.
https://kano.me/store/us/products/kano-complete
Perhaps something to explore as a platform as well as it's not too expensive and comes with what you need to hack around.
It comes with Minecraft Py installed and has a few tasks to customize a level, character, etc. Python dev tools comes installed as well as Scratch and other exercises.
The idea of gamifying tasks across the platform is interesting especially if you think of a class of folks and a leaderboard or something - maybe not something to stress but some folks like competition more than others to drive them to learn.
https://kano.me/store/us/products/kano-complete
I highly recommend Kanos. I backed them on kickstarter and got Kanos for each of my kids. They all got them assembled and running and started working through the programming exercises with them. For some it inspired other follow on programming explorations.
Lately I've reset the learning process focusing more on basics (networking, files, processes, utilities, etc) rather than programming.
Lately I've reset the learning process focusing more on basics (networking, files, processes, utilities, etc) rather than programming.
Take a look at code.org, its a resource for teaching coding. I haven't used yet but was interested in https://code.org/minecraft for teaching kids.
It depends a little bit on the age of the children. One important thing to consider is that the sooner they can see visuals that are produced by their code, the more they will be able to understand the cause/effect of programming. I've taught groups of middle schoolers to code with Processing and they've far exceeded my expectations. Daniel Shiffman's resources (http://natureofcode.com/ and his YouTube series) are great.
You can also get things up and running really quickly with LOVE2d and Lua. love2d.org
You can also get things up and running really quickly with LOVE2d and Lua. love2d.org
I have been extremely impressed with the free ciriculum and environment at https://code.org/ . It has lots of child friendly skinning and bite-sized "puzzles" that teach you step by step but build real understanding of more complicated ideas. I have "assisted" mainly watched and answered occasional questions with a bight 7 year old who has completed Course 3, which uses a scratch like visual block programming enviroment.
There is a more advanced class that teaches javascript.
There is a more advanced class that teaches javascript.
Going by my personal experience with my kid, I think the best tool at the moment is a Raspberry Pi + Minecraft Pi + Python. Python and Minecraft Pi edition are both included by default in Raspbian and there are several free resources, such as https://www.raspberrypi.org/learning/getting-started-with-mi...
It is an extremely rick environment..
It is an extremely rick environment..
Games! Find games that the players can extend it with programming. It is the best way to make kids interested, imo. At least was what attracted me (games & animes).
Box Island is a good intro to programming that includes loops and conditionals. It's a video game, with some beautiful graphics.
Game hacking. I like it. Will be introducing them to Scratch obviously
My first programming experience was a course for about ~10 kids between 8 and 12, where they showed us to program Lego Mindstorm roboters with NQC.
http://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/nqc/
Some other thing could be Scratch/Kara, but I'm not sure if it exists in english and personally I don't like it.
Some other thing could be Scratch/Kara, but I'm not sure if it exists in english and personally I don't like it.
Do you want them to be able to start programming like "childsplay", but maybe use it professionally later on?
In that case Python is a good choice. It's the #1 language in education world wide. I used it to teach programming to my son. It is free, low threshold, and I've earned a living with it for many years.
Some experimentation can be done on-line without installing anything.
https://trinket.io/
http://www.transcrypt.org/live/turtle_site/turtle_site.html
But of course in remote places there may be no fast internet connection.
When I teach programming to a group, installation of software always costs lots of time. So it's important to preinstall what the children need, in a more or less protected way, e.g. administrator privilege. Otherwise they'll probably cripple their system accidentally in no time.
In that case Python is a good choice. It's the #1 language in education world wide. I used it to teach programming to my son. It is free, low threshold, and I've earned a living with it for many years.
Some experimentation can be done on-line without installing anything.
https://trinket.io/
http://www.transcrypt.org/live/turtle_site/turtle_site.html
But of course in remote places there may be no fast internet connection.
When I teach programming to a group, installation of software always costs lots of time. So it's important to preinstall what the children need, in a more or less protected way, e.g. administrator privilege. Otherwise they'll probably cripple their system accidentally in no time.
I've been teaching children to code for 20 years.
The book I wrote is designed for self-study and seems to work pretty well for some kids.
More details on my blog here: http://grahammitchell.com/writings/how-i-teach-beginners.htm...
The book I wrote is designed for self-study and seems to work pretty well for some kids.
More details on my blog here: http://grahammitchell.com/writings/how-i-teach-beginners.htm...
I thought zed Shaw did the * the hard way titles?
He wrote the first one (Learn Python the Hard Way) and a few others. He actually emailed me and asked me to write Learn Java the Hard Way.
In his words (paraphrasing, since this was from a phone call): "I was a professional Java programmer for eight years and now I can't stand Java. There's no way I could deal with it long enough to write a Java textbook."
In his words (paraphrasing, since this was from a phone call): "I was a professional Java programmer for eight years and now I can't stand Java. There's no way I could deal with it long enough to write a Java textbook."
Great question! I'm a fan of the Mozilla Thimble project - "An online code editor for learners & educators" - https://thimble.mozilla.org
Easy to use code editor with live preview, fun starter projects to remix, easy to follow tutorials.
Easy to use code editor with live preview, fun starter projects to remix, easy to follow tutorials.
I've used this in the classroom in the past, but I absolutely hate that Mozilla's terms of service excludes students under the age of 13. If you are going to make a product for educational purposes, you need to take on the extra work to comply with the US COPPA regulations. Scratch does it, why can't Mozilla?
The most important thing is getting them to have fun, and have a positive association with coding. I use to help out with a CoderDojo, teaching kids of all ages, and the best thing to do was get them to have fun. Kids that actually enjoy the content they are learning, will learn much better.
If you're interested in using Scratc, check out the materials in the UK's Codeclub. I've run a lttle club in a primary school based on Code club and it went very well
https://www.codeclub.org.uk
https://www.codeclub.org.uk
Codesters is a great way for beginners to start programming in Python. The drag-to-text toolkit let's kids get started right away and the text exposed in the editor allows and encourages them to start modifying and customizing the code. The platform is free to build and explore (www.codesters.com/project) or there are also structured coding lessons like the one here: https://www.codesters.com/curriculum/intro-to-codesters/Buil...
Do not teach them how to write code. Teach them computational thought. There is a huge difference in approach, and in results.
I've been working indirectly with school districts doing this for a couple years now, and have seen great results from curriculum very similar to this -- https://code.org/educate/curriculum/elementary-school#overvi...
There are other courses for different ages, too. Not sure what age groups you are looking at...
Once they know computational thought, THEN teach them how to code for an app.
I've been working indirectly with school districts doing this for a couple years now, and have seen great results from curriculum very similar to this -- https://code.org/educate/curriculum/elementary-school#overvi...
There are other courses for different ages, too. Not sure what age groups you are looking at...
Once they know computational thought, THEN teach them how to code for an app.
I have done a little teaching with younger age ranges, coding and math included.
I had a lot of success with 'unplugged' computer science activities. Basically, any activity without computers. Let's learn what an algorithm is. Let's play with binary and make a 'secret code'. These activities are engaging and teach something worthwhile. It's very easy to get bogged down with tools, syntax and minutia when actually programming. For younger age ranges definitely try some computerless lessons.
http://csunplugged.org/
I had a lot of success with 'unplugged' computer science activities. Basically, any activity without computers. Let's learn what an algorithm is. Let's play with binary and make a 'secret code'. These activities are engaging and teach something worthwhile. It's very easy to get bogged down with tools, syntax and minutia when actually programming. For younger age ranges definitely try some computerless lessons.
http://csunplugged.org/
Hey, you should try this book which Scholastic published www.goodreads.com/book/show/28232614-coding-unlocked#other_reviews
It's available as an ebook as well as in paper. Short pitch: don't just learn to code by typing out existing code, learn how to think algorithmically and write your own code instead. Learn Scratch and Python side by side, seeing the same Computer Science concept in one and then the other. As well as the reviews, I've heard great anecdotal feedback.
Full disclosure: I wrote it. If I could get you a discount, I would, but I don't have that kind of sway with the publisher.
It's available as an ebook as well as in paper. Short pitch: don't just learn to code by typing out existing code, learn how to think algorithmically and write your own code instead. Learn Scratch and Python side by side, seeing the same Computer Science concept in one and then the other. As well as the reviews, I've heard great anecdotal feedback.
Full disclosure: I wrote it. If I could get you a discount, I would, but I don't have that kind of sway with the publisher.
Getting from zero to fun as fast as possible is key. Open up the DOM tools, show them a couple things, and step back. Be attentive to questions, encourage students to share their discoveries. Show them the console and how to show a prompt, alert, console.log, and set variables. Make a simple script and email it to them to paste into their console to do something fun, like add a CSS spin animation to images. The ones most interested will explore why it works and their curiosity will be the engine of their own learning.
Kids want to have fun while they learn. As a fifteen year old, I'm sure this can be by building interesting projects that has to do with characters they identify it - maybe like a website with pictures of them and describing who they are. (HTML, CSS)
After some of that, you can move on to JS where they'll actually understand programming logic. I built a site to teach people to code the web. Maybe it'll help you a bit: https://enlight.ml
After some of that, you can move on to JS where they'll actually understand programming logic. I built a site to teach people to code the web. Maybe it'll help you a bit: https://enlight.ml
Without being present? Partner with other organizations that are present. At Coderise.org we discovered that the most valuable part of our after school 8 week program for teens was the time with the mentors that also serve as role models, those relationships are kept for years after the program and that's how the kids continue on a path of software engineering, participate in the local engineering meetups / community and end up studying engineering, building startups, and giving back
I've done this before as an instructor as a tech camp. One great activity for the 12-16 age group is teaching them to mod minecraft.
This is a little more advanced, obviously, so it's not a great activity for total beginners. However, once a kid learns that they can make exploding blocks just by writing about 5 lines of code, they're totally hooked.
It also gives them an initial idea as to what real software looks like. Once that is demystified, their confidence as coders increases substantially.
This is a little more advanced, obviously, so it's not a great activity for total beginners. However, once a kid learns that they can make exploding blocks just by writing about 5 lines of code, they're totally hooked.
It also gives them an initial idea as to what real software looks like. Once that is demystified, their confidence as coders increases substantially.
Very timely - I am teaching students ages 8-12 & 10-15 coding this summer.
I've been planning on using Mozilla's Learning program (https://learning.mozilla.org/en-US/) a shot.
It's 2 separate sessions (1 for each age group) and 2 weeks in total. I have already outlined my plan based on it that I'm happy to share.
Does anyone have experience using their platform - share some thoughts?
I've been planning on using Mozilla's Learning program (https://learning.mozilla.org/en-US/) a shot.
It's 2 separate sessions (1 for each age group) and 2 weeks in total. I have already outlined my plan based on it that I'm happy to share.
Does anyone have experience using their platform - share some thoughts?
I'd go with Construct2, the free version comes with a lot of games. It's very very visual.
I also used AppInventor, an online platform by MIT, let's you code visually in the browser, might be worth checking out.
Finally, show them this video: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/178938/Video_Is_your_game...
I also used AppInventor, an online platform by MIT, let's you code visually in the browser, might be worth checking out.
Finally, show them this video: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/178938/Video_Is_your_game...
You can get them thinking in a programmer mindset through some board games. There's a whole 'programming' genre out there, where you have to choose the right actions in the right order to play the game effectively. Here are some examples:
* Robot Turtles
* Robo Rally
* Colt Express
* River Dragons
* Walk the Plank!
* Mechs vs Minions
Get them playing the games, and then after they're enjoying themselves and having fun, explain how it relates to programming, and replace the actions in the games with functions ("actions") you can do in apps.
* Robot Turtles
* Robo Rally
* Colt Express
* River Dragons
* Walk the Plank!
* Mechs vs Minions
Get them playing the games, and then after they're enjoying themselves and having fun, explain how it relates to programming, and replace the actions in the games with functions ("actions") you can do in apps.
I used to volenteer run a local branch of CodeClub in the UK - a supranational charity that produce their own courses based around Scratch, HTML / Javascript and Python.
It was my first time doing anything like that and found that CodeClub were really supportive and had a heap of resources for us to use.
Worth a look: https://www.codeclubworld.org
It was my first time doing anything like that and found that CodeClub were really supportive and had a heap of resources for us to use.
Worth a look: https://www.codeclubworld.org
I have been volunteering at my local codeclub for about a year now. Loads of fun and they have a full online curriculum[0] full of resources that cover everything mentioned in the parent. They also recently partnered with the raspberry pi foundation so I am sure we will see more crossover in that space soon.
Code club is a volunteer lead international coding club, maybe see if you have any local clubs that you can support or if you can find some people that would be happy volunteering a couple of hours every week to run one at a local library (or similar).
All of the resources use web technologies, so they can learn python through a browser at a library computer without needing their own resources.
Another thing I have been part of is OMG Tech![1] which holds events every two months with the aim of exposing children to tech that they wouldn't have experienced otherwise. So imagine taking a bunch of kids from low decile schools and having fun with 3d printing, robotics, coding, science experiments and more. The theory being that a lot of kids don't go into tech because they just don't know about it, have never experienced or think it is just too hard. So just showing them that they can do this really cool stuff goes a long way.
[0] - http://projects.codeclubworld.org/ [1] - https://omgtech.co.nz/what-we-do-omgtech/
Code club is a volunteer lead international coding club, maybe see if you have any local clubs that you can support or if you can find some people that would be happy volunteering a couple of hours every week to run one at a local library (or similar).
All of the resources use web technologies, so they can learn python through a browser at a library computer without needing their own resources.
Another thing I have been part of is OMG Tech![1] which holds events every two months with the aim of exposing children to tech that they wouldn't have experienced otherwise. So imagine taking a bunch of kids from low decile schools and having fun with 3d printing, robotics, coding, science experiments and more. The theory being that a lot of kids don't go into tech because they just don't know about it, have never experienced or think it is just too hard. So just showing them that they can do this really cool stuff goes a long way.
[0] - http://projects.codeclubworld.org/ [1] - https://omgtech.co.nz/what-we-do-omgtech/
https://www.codingame.com/ is a terrific resource. Also, I've found that if youngsters enjoy (not just able to play, enjoy) https://www.factorio.com/ they are predisposed to solve programming puzzles as well.
Here is an essay I wrote following my son's first technical talk, weeks after his seventh birthday. It references what I believe works in teaching children to program.
https://medium.com/@eric2.71828/your-journey-is-important-sh...
https://medium.com/@eric2.71828/your-journey-is-important-sh...
Make it fun! My company recently hosted an Hour of Code to teach young kids to learn how to code. Since your goal is to teach them without necessarily being present every day, you may need to change things around, but their website is an amazing resource of fun projects that help teach.
https://code.org/learn
https://code.org/learn
If you need a partner in crime, send me an email (it's in my profile)!
I build tools for teaching adults to code, but recently started volunteering for a non-profit that provides a couple hours a week for kids to come in and learn HTML, CSS, javascript. It's 75% them trying to play minecraft and roblox, but seeing a kid whip open the chrome inspector is pretty inspiring.
I build tools for teaching adults to code, but recently started volunteering for a non-profit that provides a couple hours a week for kids to come in and learn HTML, CSS, javascript. It's 75% them trying to play minecraft and roblox, but seeing a kid whip open the chrome inspector is pretty inspiring.
Linear programming on paper first, then linear programming by code. I have no idea how to do that one with kids, without being present (since I barely managed to do it with adults, while being present).
Doing it on paper by hand first is more important then it sounds, so they can really understand a)what they are coding, b)how fricking awesome computers really are.
Doing it on paper by hand first is more important then it sounds, so they can really understand a)what they are coding, b)how fricking awesome computers really are.
I've always figured that this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leBEFaVHllE&t=89s
was a pretty smart way to start out. Its possibly the opposite of what you want as it is completely unrelated to tools/manuals/etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leBEFaVHllE&t=89s
was a pretty smart way to start out. Its possibly the opposite of what you want as it is completely unrelated to tools/manuals/etc.
I agree that it depends on age.
I will be teaching high school kids next autumn and I have been looking at potentially using http://gomix.me where you can prep an assignment and they can easily clone it and get hacking.
MIT scratch to get the kids excited about programming. Also a great way to learn basic concepts like conditionals and loops.
Then "Teach Your Kids to Code: A Parent-Friendly Guide to Python Programming". Build fun shapes using turtle.
Source: Teaching an 8 year old to code.
This can be really useful for kids - Web Maker https://kushagragour.in/lab/web-maker/
Specially, in remote areas where there is low/no connectivity, as Web Maker works offline!
Specially, in remote areas where there is low/no connectivity, as Web Maker works offline!
Went to a career day at a 5th grade class. https://studio.code.org/s/frozen worked for me, but its not coding per say. They still had alot of fun.
And yes inspect element is gold.
And yes inspect element is gold.
Problem is, if we teach kids how to code today, they might end up jobless when they graduate from college.
Machines will code for us. I think we should push the vision further. We always try to apply the present for the future. The real future for these kids is not coding!
Machines will code for us. I think we should push the vision further. We always try to apply the present for the future. The real future for these kids is not coding!
I haven't used it personally, but Blockly is often cited as being useful in that scenario: https://developers.google.com/blockly/
I've seen some great success with my own kids and https://www.tynker.com.
Starts at the very beginning, with a lot of variety in paths and lessons. Self-paced and gamified.
Not sure about the cost.
Starts at the very beginning, with a lot of variety in paths and lessons. Self-paced and gamified.
Not sure about the cost.
I always loved this TED talk:
https://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_shows_how_kids_teach_...
https://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_shows_how_kids_teach_...
Take a look at EToys: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etoys_(programming_language)
Teach them how to solve problems before you even start talking about code.
Hello!
We run an after school classes program in Barcelona, Spain. Where we teach kids from age 4-15 "programming" or computational thinking.
Depending on age group there are different tools, and starting with the really young ones, we use tools like Hopscotch and other simpler coding apps, when we use technology. And even more fun is to learn about coding not even using any tech. So then we revert to using pen/paper/strings and ourselves, programming each other is a fun thing to do, and you can debug the code in group, and learn to understand how computer operates, and how to give orders.
Once the kids get slightly older, we use to go straight to scratch, (this is the first stop we tend to go to regardless of age if anyone is new, just to grasp concepts) This will not take to long if the kids are older than 10.
But even from 6 years of age we've seen enormous potential in using scratch, kids love it, it's visual in the output, super versatile in what you can do (we get blown away by the kids all the time). And you can indeed build very complex things with scratch, as well as you can produce a pong game in matter of minutes.
Main take away, if you want the kids engaged, get them super comfortable in Scratch, and get them to understand problem solving using computational thinking, rather than go straight to the browser and manipulate the DOM, that's not learning kids how to code, thats like peeking and changing values, not really getting to the core of programming.
Once the kids are comfortable in understanding that one thing can be solved in more than 10 ways, and that no real way is the right way (except if it is). Than make an introduction to text based programming, either looking inside scratch code, or by looking at something in the visual spectrum, like processing, this is a great first step and good jump from scratch. And it's easy to build on top of this and move into javascript.
When I'm mentioning age groups it's only if they have zero prior knowledge about coding, we have 6 years old that program as good as 12 years old but the 6 year old kids have been doing it for a year or more and the 12 year olds are just a couple of weeks into classes.
So it's also about checking the temperature on knowledge. Once you start moving up the ladder on text based programming, it's important to understand how to keep the vast majority interested, and not just the .consoleLog(); persons interested. Keep in mind that programming comes in many shades, and not everyone is hard core math nerd loving, but still can be terrific problem solvers, if given the right tools to do so.
I would say the biggest take-away for us since starting KidsHackClub.com is that make sure it's fun, do not indulge in long demos, or make complex things, and show of big projects, it wont get the kids into coding, it will scare them away. So start small, and build up as time goes, and make things that are visual, no-one enjoys staring at lines of intigers counting in the console, sorry peps, it's kids from the touch generation, they have played with phones and tablets since they where born.
Would love to chat more, just hit me up on twitter @LinusEkenstam or @KidsHackClub and we can also do email, but ping me on Twitter and we can hook up.
We run an after school classes program in Barcelona, Spain. Where we teach kids from age 4-15 "programming" or computational thinking.
Depending on age group there are different tools, and starting with the really young ones, we use tools like Hopscotch and other simpler coding apps, when we use technology. And even more fun is to learn about coding not even using any tech. So then we revert to using pen/paper/strings and ourselves, programming each other is a fun thing to do, and you can debug the code in group, and learn to understand how computer operates, and how to give orders.
Once the kids get slightly older, we use to go straight to scratch, (this is the first stop we tend to go to regardless of age if anyone is new, just to grasp concepts) This will not take to long if the kids are older than 10.
But even from 6 years of age we've seen enormous potential in using scratch, kids love it, it's visual in the output, super versatile in what you can do (we get blown away by the kids all the time). And you can indeed build very complex things with scratch, as well as you can produce a pong game in matter of minutes.
Main take away, if you want the kids engaged, get them super comfortable in Scratch, and get them to understand problem solving using computational thinking, rather than go straight to the browser and manipulate the DOM, that's not learning kids how to code, thats like peeking and changing values, not really getting to the core of programming.
Once the kids are comfortable in understanding that one thing can be solved in more than 10 ways, and that no real way is the right way (except if it is). Than make an introduction to text based programming, either looking inside scratch code, or by looking at something in the visual spectrum, like processing, this is a great first step and good jump from scratch. And it's easy to build on top of this and move into javascript.
When I'm mentioning age groups it's only if they have zero prior knowledge about coding, we have 6 years old that program as good as 12 years old but the 6 year old kids have been doing it for a year or more and the 12 year olds are just a couple of weeks into classes.
So it's also about checking the temperature on knowledge. Once you start moving up the ladder on text based programming, it's important to understand how to keep the vast majority interested, and not just the .consoleLog(); persons interested. Keep in mind that programming comes in many shades, and not everyone is hard core math nerd loving, but still can be terrific problem solvers, if given the right tools to do so.
I would say the biggest take-away for us since starting KidsHackClub.com is that make sure it's fun, do not indulge in long demos, or make complex things, and show of big projects, it wont get the kids into coding, it will scare them away. So start small, and build up as time goes, and make things that are visual, no-one enjoys staring at lines of intigers counting in the console, sorry peps, it's kids from the touch generation, they have played with phones and tablets since they where born.
Would love to chat more, just hit me up on twitter @LinusEkenstam or @KidsHackClub and we can also do email, but ping me on Twitter and we can hook up.
and yes, obviously when they grasp the concepts, we move on to do robotics, lego, 3D printing, painting robots and so on, but getting the basics is the first step, then it's just like a waterfall. :-)
MIT scratch and kudu. Kids love it. I teach from 12 years old up to 18. Primary school kids will enjoy Scratch. Things like animated greetings cards, tamagotchi, flappy bird....
Check out Sonic-Pi: http://sonic-pi.net
It's "classroom-ready", gives instant feedback and would be quite fun.
It's "classroom-ready", gives instant feedback and would be quite fun.
Aframe.io + bunch of cardboards
Easy as HTML, with option of adding more complexity via javascript. Very rewarding from the start, children get into VR from the very beginning.
Easy as HTML, with option of adding more complexity via javascript. Very rewarding from the start, children get into VR from the very beginning.
coder Dojo seems to do well: https://coderdojo.com/start-a-dojo/
resources: http://kata.coderdojo.com/wiki/Home_Page
resources: http://kata.coderdojo.com/wiki/Home_Page
Underprivileged children anywhere in the world? Have you considered they will not speak English?
tell them, they are not allowed to code!
Use only papers and pens
operant conditioning
I did it this way us9ing Lua and Love2d (love2d.org):
Teach them what data is: numbers, strings of characters, true or false statements. Let them play in the interpreter. Let them see the computer work for them. Teach them that a variable is just the name of a box and the value is the contents.
Then introduce tables. Just like a set of boxes with labels.
Then simple control flow. Now you can introduce them to Love2d and start them off making simple graphics programs.
Eight hours or so later, they can code small games using Love and will understand each line. Then you can leave them to their own devices and point them at further resources.
Teach them what data is: numbers, strings of characters, true or false statements. Let them play in the interpreter. Let them see the computer work for them. Teach them that a variable is just the name of a box and the value is the contents.
Then introduce tables. Just like a set of boxes with labels.
Then simple control flow. Now you can introduce them to Love2d and start them off making simple graphics programs.
Eight hours or so later, they can code small games using Love and will understand each line. Then you can leave them to their own devices and point them at further resources.
Give them LOGO (the language), teach them a bit of it, give access to the manuals / online help, and set them loose on it.
Stand back and see the fun :)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo_(programming_language)
Stand back and see the fun :)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo_(programming_language)
If they are less than 10yrs, look into Alice: http://www.alice.org/index.php. Teaches fundamental building blocks while they play with scene creation. Have used it for several classes and each one was outstanding.
My favorite for older kids is to find an open-source video game with easily modifiable parameters, like lives, enemy count, sizes, etc., Start by asking them to change various things - class nearly runs on auto-pilot before too long.
My favorite for older kids is to find an open-source video game with easily modifiable parameters, like lives, enemy count, sizes, etc., Start by asking them to change various things - class nearly runs on auto-pilot before too long.
First explain to them that you don't "code." You "write code" or "program." :)
I run an education focussed r&d shop (www.jibly.com) and regularly work on mobile app projects for large firms.
This year, I wanted to start teaching a group of underprivileged children (orphans, refugees, etc) anywhere in the world, how to code for every commercial app project I do for companies.
So for every app project I get, a group of kids gets the tools and resources to learn how to code.
I'm thinking of donating laptops with pre-installed child friendly coding environments. Including books, manuals., etc..
What are some great ways to teach groups of children how to code, without being present every day?